Duplex (film)

Last updated
Duplex
Duplex film.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Danny DeVito
Written by Larry Doyle
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAnastas Michos
Edited by
Music by David Newman
Production
companies
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release date
  • September 26, 2003 (2003-09-26)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million
Box office$19.3 million

Duplex (released in the United Kingdom and Ireland as Our House) is a 2003 American black comedy film directed by Danny DeVito (who also narrated the film) and written by Larry Doyle. The film stars Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore with Eileen Essell, Harvey Fierstein, Robert Wisdom, Justin Theroux and James Remar in supporting roles. [2]

Contents

Plot

Young, professional New York couple Alex Rose and Nancy Kendricks are in search of their dream home. The seemingly perfect Brooklyn brownstone duplex has one flaw: Mrs. Connelly, an old Irish lady who lives on the rent-controlled top floor. Assuming she won't live long, they buy the apartment.

However, they soon realize Mrs. Connelly is lively, enjoys blasting her TV 24-7 and rehearsing in a brass band. A novelist, Alex must finish his latest against a looming deadline. However, he is interrupted constantly daily by Mrs. Connelly, and it quickly escalates into an all-out war. They try to get her to move out, but she refuses. Next, they try to file a noise complaint against her, but discover that she has gone to the police first and filed a harassment charge against them. Their friends turn against them when she play-acts as the "poor, innocent, old lady" making it appear they are out to harm her.

Nancy loses her job and Alex misses his deadline thanks to the old lady's antics, so they are trapped at home together with Mrs. Connelly with no place to go. Their rage turns to homicidal fantasy as they plot ways to get rid of their manipulative, no-good neighbor. Peace overtures and a break-in lead to nothing, so they hire a hitman, Chick, to kill her. His asking price for the hit is $25,000. Desperate and needing the money in two days, they sell almost everything they own to pay for the Christmas Eve hit.

Chick breaks into Mrs. Connelly's apartment as planned, but fails to kill her as she defends herself with a speargun, shooting him in the shoulder. She is incapacitated in the fight, and the duplex catches fire. Nancy and Alex appear to leave her to die, but then return and save her and her parrot. The fire department puts out the fire. Accepting defeat, Alex and Nancy leave, and are told the old woman has just died. Moving away, they contemplate their strange encounter.

We then learn they are not the first to be elaborately scammed by: the realtor of the duplex, Kenneth (Mrs. Connelly's son); the ill-tempered NYPD Officer Dan (Kenneth's boyfriend) who had frequently harassed and distrusted the couple, always siding with Mrs. Connelly in her disputes against them, and Mrs. Connelly herself (who is still alive).

The real-estate scam has been run by the trio for several years: Kenneth sells the ground-floor apartment to an unsuspecting, naive young couple. Then Mrs. Connelly, aided by Dan, harasses them, eventually forcing them to move out. Finally, she fakes her own death so they will never suspect a thing, thus leaving them to collect and live off of the sales commission from the next unsuspecting occupants. Alex and Nancy were their latest victims among many. Despite everything, as they celebrate their latest victory, she admits she actually liked Alex and Nancy and hopes they find success and happiness elsewhere.

Alex and Nancy relocated to The Bronx. Like the other couples the trio scammed, they never saw Mrs. Connelly or returned to Brooklyn again. Alex used their unpleasant experience as inspiration for his next book entitled Duplex, which becomes a best-seller. A final voice-over by the narrator relates that "Alex and Nancy's dream house may have been too good to be true, but did they live happily ever after? Well, read the book.".

Cast

Reception

Duplex has a 50/100 on Metacritic and a 35% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The site's consensus states: "It was funnier when it was called Throw Momma from the Train ." [3] [4] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars out of four and wrote that the "murder schemes aimed at Mrs. Connelly don't generate the laughter they should, maybe because no matter what she does, she still seems, irremediably, unredeemably, a sweet little old lady. [...] Duplex is all about plotting; it tries to impose emotions that we don't really feel. We can't identify with Mrs. Connelly, that's for sure, but we can't identify with Alex and Nancy, either, because we don't share their frustration -- and the reason we don't is because we don't believe it. There's too much contrivance and not enough plausibility, and so finally we're just enjoying the performances and wishing they'd been in a more persuasive movie." [5]

Barrymore earned a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actress for her performances in both Duplex and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle , but lost to Jennifer Lopez for Gigli .

On a $40 million budget, it grossed $9,692,135 in the US, and $19,322,135 worldwide, making it a commercial failure. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>A Perfect Murder</i> 1998 American film

A Perfect Murder is a 1998 American crime thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen. It is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Dial M for Murder, though the characters' names have been changed and much of the plot has been rewritten and altered from its original form. Loosely based on the play by Frederick Knott, the screenplay was written by Patrick Smith Kelly.

<i>Charlies Angels: Full Throttle</i> 2003 American film by McG

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a 2003 American action comedy film directed by McG and written by John August, and Cormac and Marianne Wibberley. It is the sequel to 2000's Charlie's Angels and the second installment in the Charlie's Angels film series, which is a continuation of the story that began with the television series of the same name by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts.

<i>Sid and Nancy</i> 1986 film

Sid and Nancy is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and his destructive relationship with girlfriend Nancy Spungen. The film also features supporting performances from David Hayman, Xander Berkeley, and Courtney Love.

<i>House of Sand and Fog</i> (film) 2003 film by Vadim Perelman

House of Sand and Fog is a 2003 drama film directed by Vadim Perelman, with a screenplay written by Perelman and Shawn Lawrence Otto. It is based on the novel of the same name by Andre Dubus III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eileen Essell</span> English actress (1922-2015)

Eileen Joan Essell was an English actress, noted in part for not beginning her screen acting career until the age of 79.

<i>Down to You</i> 2000 film directed by Kris Isacsson

Down to You is a 2000 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Kris Isacsson, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles as young lovers who meet in college and go through the ups and downs of a relationship. Selma Blair, Shawn Hatosy, Zak Orth, Ashton Kutcher, Rosario Dawson, Lucie Arnaz, and Henry Winkler play supporting roles. Isacsson's first and only theatrical feature film, Down to You paired Prinze and Stiles a year after their respective starring roles in the successful high school-set romantic comedies She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You. Despite being the second-highest grossing film at the domestic box office its opening weekend, the film received poor response from critics and failed to recoup its $35 million budget.

<i>Irreconcilable Differences</i> 1984 film by Charles Shyer

Irreconcilable Differences is a 1984 American comedy-drama film starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, and Drew Barrymore. The film was a minor box-office success, making over $12 million. For their performances, both Long and Barrymore were nominated for Golden Globe Awards.

<i>The Nanny Diaries</i> (film) 2007 film by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini

The Nanny Diaries is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, and Laura Linney, the film tells the story of a college graduate who goes to work as a nanny for a wealthy family in New York City. Ensconced in their home, she has to juggle their dysfunction, a new romance, and the child in her charge.

<i>Music and Lyrics</i> 2007 American film

Music and Lyrics is a 2007 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Marc Lawrence. It focuses on the relationship that evolves between a former pop music idol and an aspiring writer as they struggle to compose a song for a reigning pop diva.

<i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> (1978 film) 1978 British film

The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1978 British comedy film spoofing the 1902 novel The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It starred Peter Cook as Sherlock Holmes and Dudley Moore as Dr. Watson. A number of other well-known British comedy actors appeared in the film including Terry-Thomas, Kenneth Williams and Denholm Elliott.

<i>Half Moon Street</i> (film) 1986 UK-US film by Bob Swaim

Half Moon Street is a 1986 British-American erotic thriller film directed by Bob Swaim and starring Sigourney Weaver, Michael Caine, Keith Buckley, and P. J. Kavanagh. The film is about an American woman working at a British escort service who becomes involved in the political intrigues surrounding one of her clients.

<i>Hes Just Not That Into You</i> (film) 2009 film by Ken Kwapis

He's Just Not That Into You is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Ken Kwapis, based on Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo's 2004 self-help book of the same name. It follows nine people and their varying romantic problems. Gigi, a common thread amongst the characters, is followed more closely than the other eight and has a more developed storyline as she consistently misreads all of her romantic partners' behaviors. She meets Alex, who helps her to interpret signs given to her by her dates.

<i>Everybodys Fine</i> (2009 film) 2009 film by Kirk Jones

Everybody's Fine is a 2009 American drama film written and directed by Kirk Jones, and starring Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. It is a remake of Giuseppe Tornatore's Italian film Everybody's Fine. In Brazil, Russia and Japan, the film was released direct-to-DVD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Connelly</span> American actress (born 1970)

Jennifer Lynn Connelly is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film Once Upon a Time in America. After a few more years of modeling, she began to concentrate on acting, starring in a variety of films including the horror film Phenomena (1985), the musical fantasy film Labyrinth (1986), the romantic comedy Career Opportunities (1991), and the period superhero film The Rocketeer (1991). She received praise for her performance in the science fiction film Dark City (1998) and playing a drug addict in Darren Aronofsky's drama film Requiem for a Dream (2000).

<i>Lady Jayne: Killer</i> 2003 American film

Betrayal is a thriller film released in 2003. The film stars Erika Eleniak, Julie du Page, Adam Baldwin, James Remar and Louis Mandylor.

<i>Please Give</i> 2010 film by Nicole Holofcener

Please Give is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. It stars Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Ann Guilbert, and Sarah Steele. It revolves around married antique-dealers butting heads with the granddaughters of the elderly woman who lives in the apartment the couple owns.

<i>Heartbreaker</i> (2010 film) 2010 French film

Heartbreaker is a 2010 French romantic comedy film starring Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, Julie Ferrier and François Damiens.

<i>5 Flights Up</i> 2014 film

5 Flights Up is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Richard Loncraine, written by Charlie Peters, and starring Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton. The film is based on the novel Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment. It was released on May 8, 2015 by Focus World.

<i>Bite</i> (film) 2015 Canadian film

Bite is a 2015 Canadian body horror film written and directed by Chad Archibald, and starring Elma Begovic, Annette Wozniak, Denise Yuen, Jordan Gray, Lawrene Denkers, Barry Birnberg, Daniel Klimitz, Tianna Nori, and Caroline Palmer. It was produced by Black Fawn Films, MGM Productions and Scream Factory, and Breakthrough Entertainment. The plot is about a young woman who is bitten by a waterborne insect whilst in Costa Rica and suffers horrifying and transformative consequences.

<i>Lady Chatterleys Lover</i> (2022 film) 2022 film by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Lady Chatterley's Lover is a 2022 historical romantic drama film directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre from a screenplay by David Magee based on the novel of the same name by D. H. Lawrence. The film stars Emma Corrin and Jack O'Connell.

References

  1. 1 2 "Duplex". American Film Institute . Retrieved 2016-09-11.
  2. ↑ "Our House Film Review", viewbirmingham.co.uk
  3. ↑ Duplex (2003) - Metacritic [ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ Duplex (2003) - Rotten Tomatoes
  5. ↑ Roger Ebert (September 26, 2003). Duplex Movie Review and Film Summary (2003). Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  6. ↑ Duplex (2003) - Box Office Mojo
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.